Villa Prophets And Losses

I don`t usually link out like this but the article is an epic, The Swiss Rambler looks at the current dissatisfaction, the let down of Alex McLeish but also the role of Houllier and the much debated Martin O`Neill as well as how much money has been put into Villa.

See what you think, I`ll not take quotes out as the article is long and so well connected, it seems a shame to break up the chain of thoughts!!!

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The thing about scrambler he maybe good with numbers but his knowledge in football is limited especially in regards to our club. Reason why he cannot see the footballing aspect and circumstances Gerard Houllier faced when he was appointed. Houllier is one of the most respected football figures in the world reason why our own F.A seeked is advice. Yes he had his short comings but he was heading our club in the right direction if we all can remember the type of players we were being linked to 'Benzema, Cabaye who would have come here if he had stayed and so forth. He should have been moved upstairs as director of football instead of wasting money releasing him.

Suberb stuff -- Is RL an assett stripper? Why are the Mighty Villa officially known as Aston Villa FC Limited ):? Why did General Krulak think McLeish had 'proved' he could manage in the EPL after he'd just relegated Small Heath? How do Davies, Sidwell, Knight etc feel at being described as 'dross' (a bit harsh, that)? Why are these players -- and others like them -- getting paid millions. Why do some people still think MON is The Messiah? The piece poses as many questions as it answers. Truly inspired stuff, though. Here's hoping it finds it way to Randy Lerners inbox (probably already has).

If one thing comes out of this article it's that one good coach (Wenger for instance) can make a huge difference between success and failure. Also, modern footballers -- generally -- are grossly overpaid. Another thing, foreign players are clearly better quality -- and value for money -- than British and Irish ones. ( I think the business term for buying quality regardless of its origin is 'Best-of-Breed'). There are a lot of similarities between MON and The Miserable One at RedScouse. Both have inflated reputations. Both are 'old school'. Both have/had a sympathetic but apparently badly informed American owner. Both seem to have a fixation on players from the British Isles and an aversion to foreign football culture. It'll be vicarious joy to behold watching it all go downhill at Redscouse.

That Napoli were mentioned is apt. As I've said before Villa can learn from Napoli, Bilbao, Porto, Dortmund or Lyon. (To name but five). These are the sort of provincial clubs that punch above their weight that Villa could also be. Porto and Dortmund are also -- like Villa -- former European Cup winners. Good football, plus sustained domestic cup runs and the Europa League. If this is the best Villa can aspire to at the moment then I'd take it in a flash.

Royalvilla that is so true. I was fully aware of much of the detail, which is why I have always been a supporter of Randolph, but there were still many points that I was not aware of. In simplistic terms Randolph Lerner has been a godsend for the club whilst making one (two?) of the worst appointments in our history. I urge everybody to read and digest the information before making some of the ridiculous statements that often appear. McMuppet out now. we are in urgent need of someone who can make use of our excellent academy and McMuppet is definitely not that man. This balanced look at Aston Villa only goes to highlight that McMuppet must go immediately.

This is an excellent article. What is so frustrating is that Villa seem to pay over the odds in wages to all these players. We always seem to have to go that extra mile to attract as we are not from London and dont have the same following as Liverpool / Utd etc. Also the fact that any player who does well gets pinched by a bigger club, our only hope of success in the next 5 years is to get someone to coach the kids in to great players and hold them as part of an ongoing project with players they have grown up playing with. We cant afford to buy success so we need to 'buy' a bloody good coach (maybe AVB or a Rijkard) and pay a lot over the odds to them in wages as its the only way we can get them but in theory if they make those players in to world class players and ewe keep them then our finances, league position and fan base will all take care of itself. We need to invest in the best management team and coach's we can get as our kids wages wont do us much damage in the short term!!

Logical Chelt. Unfortunately most clubs, other than the ones funded by sugar daddies have strong fan bases willing to pay more per game than we do. As supporters we simply do not spend enough money on our club in comparison to others.

Yes VOTH thats true but the best way to turn that around is success on the pitch. We will be invaded by 'lifelong villa fans' just like Liverpool were in the 80s, Utd are now along with Man City & Chelsea... If we were served up half decent football I would have spent much more. You have to build the foundations 1st then the bricks start to lay themselves and go hand in hand. Champs League increases TV money, that in turn shows you to a wider audience, kids arent embarrssed to support us, the ground will be full every week then you can start to charge more! Its a sound model but serving up what we have this season has lost at least 1 year of potential fans as you cant say I am going to support Villa for any reason but they are your local club right now. You cant pick them as a team that you just love to watch or cos they are a proper footballing club like West Ham get labelled!

Like i said on the forum on this article, i take back my frustration and the negative things i have said recently regarding Randy Lerner as our chaiman, he has invested more than enough in this club to be at least in the top 7, if we were managed correctly by MoN and he didn't buy so many second rate british players like shorey harewood heskey collins dunne sidwell warnock the list goes on we would have had a bright future and still be able to challange for years to come for the top 4 spots like spuds are, MoN was not the man to be given funds wish we would have had someone like Van Gaal etc a manager that had european players knowledge instead of MoN just having british players knowledge.